Coaches on the hot seat / After quiet year on firing front, several had better win

Ira Miller

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, September 18, 2005

Photo: ED ZURGA

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Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren throws a red flag during the first quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, Aug. 27, 2005. The re-play officials ruled in favor of the Seahawks on the play. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga) less

Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren throws a red flag during the first quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, Aug. 27, 2005. The re-play officials ruled in ... more

Photo: ED ZURGA

Coaches on the hot seat / After quiet year on firing front, several had better win

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By NFL standards, this was a good year for coaches, a bad year for moving companies.

Only three teams -- the 49ers, Browns and Dolphins -- changed coaches after the 2004 season. Some suspect that the increasing cost of overturning an entire coaching staff is causing owners to have more patience, but more likely, it was simply an aberration.

The league's average is about seven coaching changes a year. By that standard, the next year probably will involve a lot of turnover. Among the coaches whose jobs are in jeopardy are at least two who have taken teams to the Super Bowl: Seattle's Mike Holmgren and St. Louis' Mike Martz.

Martz's team showed against the 49ers last week why his job is on the line. Special teams, game management and preparation all appeared lacking. Further, it is said that, even before coming to San Francisco, the Rams were looking ahead to this week's game at Arizona against their former quarterback, Kurt Warner, instead of focusing on the task at hand.

Here's a rundown of those on the hot seat:

Martz: He has a .614 winning percentage and has done a nice job developing quarterbacks. But his teams continue to make the same maddening mistakes, and the special teams are annually among the NFL's worst. Word is there is significant divisiveness in the St. Louis organization over Martz, who has a wonderful offensive mind and should be some team's highly paid coordinator, but not the head coach.

Holmgren: At Green Bay, his winning percentage was .667, with two NFC titles and a Super Bowl victory. At Seattle, it's .505, with no playoff victories. Yes, he had Brett Favre with the Packers and doesn't with the Seahawks. But Holmgren had a free hand in building the Seattle roster, this is his seventh season there, and the team seems to play with no energy. With a new club president, Tim Ruskell, looking over his shoulder, Holmgren likely is a short-timer if he's not successful this year.

Mike Tice, Minnesota: The Vikings changed their approach this year, getting rid of Randy Moss and rebuilding the defense. Tice, whose career record is 24-28, also must deal with a new boss, Zygi Wilf, who bought the Vikings in the spring. After Minnesota lost to Tampa Bay in the opener, Wilf said he spent several hours driving around the Twin Cities and announced that he plans to take a more "active" role with the team, telling reporters, "I really am the Monday morning quarterback now." That is not a good sign for Tice.

Steve Mariucci, Detroit: The opening-game victory over Green Bay surely helps, but Mariucci's record with the Lions is 12-21, and the team expects a playoff run this season. Club President Matt Millen recently got a five-year contract extension, a sign that ownership believes he's doing a good job assembling the roster and managing the franchise. That puts the pressure squarely on the coach.

Norv Turner, Raiders: Oakland has had just 11 losing seasons in 45 years, and no Oakland coach ever has survived two consecutive losing seasons. The Raiders were 5-11 a year ago and, with a roster rebuilt to Al Davis' specifications, you can be sure Turner knows the drill. Whom do you think Davis will blame if the season is not a success? Himself?

Jim Haslett, New Orleans: Haslett and the original Jim Mora are the only Saints' coaches with records better than .500, and Haslett also coached the Saints to their only playoff victory. This year's trials will be a terrific test of Haslett's coaching, and his ability to relate to the players should be good for the team. But Haslett's tenure has been marked by team inconsistency, and it's difficult to predict what the reaction will be from club owner Tom Benson.

Dom Capers, Houston: This is the fourth season for the Texans, who expected to climb out of the expansion team mind-set and challenge for the playoffs. Last year, only a surprise, last-game loss at Cleveland cost them a .500 season, but the Texans won four of their six division games, losing only to Indianapolis (twice), and seven of their nine defeats came against playoff teams. If improvement continues, Capers will be safe, but the Texans have to play better on offense than they did in the opener.

Joe Gibbs, Washington: You would have thought a Hall of Fame coach was safe even from owner Dan Snyder, but Gibbs' inability to settle on a quarterback and the lack of an offense are not good signs. Snyder, on his fifth coach since 2000, is not known for his patience, so if the Redskins don't make considerable progress this season, he could decide he has had enough of Gibbs -- or the other way around.

Jon Gruden, Tampa Bay: He also won his opener, has a store of good will left over from the Super Bowl victory and ownership has allowed him to do pretty much whatever he wants. The roster has been rebuilt substantially, so only nine players remain who started against the Raiders in the Super Bowl following the 2002 season.

Others to watch: Then there are at least three other coaches, Super Bowl winners all, who conceivably could walk away on their own -- Dallas' Bill Parcells, Kansas City's Dick Vermeil and Denver's Mike Shanahan -- although Parcells possibly could get a nudge from owner Jerry Jones if the Cowboys' rebuilding project stalls. And, of course, there's usually a surprise, too, although there was none this year.

Season on the brink

These are some coaches whose jobs could be on the line if they don't win this season: